Uruguay will cheat to beat England in the World Cup, says Gus Poyet

CHEATERS PROSPER: Poyet says Uruguay will pull out all the stops to beat England [GETTY]

The teams meet in a crucial Group D clash in Sao Paulo on June 19.

And Gus Poyet says his countrymen will happily cheat if it means they get all three points.

"We won't accept that you are better than us," said Sunderland boss Poyet.

"If you're better than me, I will find a way, with my players around, to stop you.

"Grabbing you, being stronger than you, whatever it is, to stop you, to win the game. Yeah we do that, and we are proud of that.

"I think that's a way you win more than you lose. People in Uruguay want to win at the age of six."

READY TO CHEAT: Poyet says the Uruguayans are not scared to cheat [GETTY]

Suarez infamously handled the ball on the line in the dying seconds of extra-time to stop Ghana reaching the semi-finals at the 2010 finals.

He was sent off, but the Liverpool striker's actions sparked outrage as Uruguay went on to win on penalties.

"I know that for you a hand ball on the goal line is cheating," said Poyet. "It's not for us - it's part of the game.

"It's part of the game like if I'm the last man and you're running and I pull your shirt and you go down and I get sent off - is that cheating? No, it's not cheating.

"You take it as a last man red card, fine. We take the same reaction [for what Suarez did].

"What I mean with this is I know it was massive in England, I know. But it's like a surprise for us. We thought, why? He saved it. He was sent off. It was a penalty. It's true.

"It's worse for us when you do something that no-one sees, like punching someone. But a handball on the goal-line is a handball on the goal-line."

The dangerman for Hodgson and England will be Suarez, who returned to light training yesterday 12 days after a knee operation.

“Grabbing you, being stronger than you, whatever it is, to stop you, to win the game. Yeah we do that, and we are proud of that”

Gus Poyet

And Poyet, who won 26 caps for his country, knows exactly what sort of a threat he poses.

Poyet said: "You need to pay extra attention, because he's special. For me I changed the system once this season only because of Luis and (Daniel) Sturridge.

"We went to Liverpool and played three at the back for the first time ever.

"You need to look after him in a different way.

"He would love to make this his World Cup. And he will try his best. Luis will like to prove himself at the highest level. He's that kind of character. He's done this, he's done that. Now he'll want to do it at the World Cup and do well."

Poyet also admitted he feared Suarez would quit English football following his 10-match ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in April 2013.

He added: "I was pleased that he stayed, first of all, because I was a little bit worried that he would be leaving. Then, I was not sure how he would cope with the whole situation.

"You have to give him credit. If there were any other issues - alcohol, drugs or whatever - he would be a hero in England. But he is not because he spoke with passion in a situation.

"We try to be too nice with some people. But we don't realise how bad a time he has had. I am not saying he did not deserve his punishment, but sometimes we go over the top."